Jeff Zucker, who ran CNN for almost a decade, will manage $1 billion in capital being contributed from Abu Dhabi-backed International Media Investments, IMI, and Gerry Cardinale’s RedBird Capital Partners to go after attractive M&A opportunities in the media & entertainment space.
The funding goes into a partnership called RedBird IMI, and will likely pursue similar assets to those in the Redbird portfolio, which has $7 billion in capital under management and deep ties in the entertainment industry, most recently backing Ben Affleck and Matt Damon in November in a vehicle called Artists Equity (AE).
AE is an artist-led studio which broadens access to profit participation, fuels intellectual property monetization through creator partnerships and leverage a data-driven approach to content distribution.
